Asura Field

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"What are you looking at?"

The cold voice reached him on the wind.

Yu Huatian came back to himself. Looking at Dongfang Bubai, whose handsome face was every bit a match for his own but now wore an icy expression, he said mildly, "Whether you're a man or a woman."

Dongfang Bubai's gaze chilled. Then, as though something had suddenly occurred to him, he carefully looked Yu Huatian up and down. "What martial art do you practice?" he asked coldly.

Has he noticed?

Yu Huatian's expression remained unchanged. "What you should be worrying about now is how to leave here alive."

Dongfang Bubai's gaze sharpened, but at that moment, he suddenly noticed that his surroundings seemed to have grown much quieter.

Turning to look, he saw that not a single martial artist remained alive on the battlefield. Even the Heavenly Venerable's people had withdrawn at some point.

As for the Sun Moon Holy Cult, apart from the corpses left on the battlefield, all its members had long since vanished.

Most of those the Sun Moon Holy Cult had sent this time were elites. They could not possibly have all died in such a short time, which left only one possibility-

The survivors had abandoned him and fled!

Dongfang Bubai's face darkened instantly, and a thread of chilling murderous intent surfaced in his eyes.

"It seems your way of commanding your subordinates falls far short of the Bright Moon Cult's."

Yu Huatian spoke mildly.

Clop, clop-

Around them, numerous experts from the West Depot and the Embroidered Uniform Guard slowly closed in, weapons in hand, their expressions wary and their eyes filled with murderous intent.

Dongfang Bubai withdrew his gaze and said coldly, "Those worthless fools can run if they like. I'll deal with them when I return. You think these people are enough to keep me here?"

"How would we know without trying?"

Dongfang Bubai sneered. "You're welcome to try!"

As his words fell, Dongfang Bubai swept out his sleeve. His red robes flashed as he sprang into the air like a nimble red oriole, darting into the distance in an instant.

Click, click-

It was the sound of crossbows being cocked.

A squad of Embroidered Uniform Guards carrying crossbows immediately stepped forward and swung their weapons around.

"Loose!"

"Don't let him escape!"

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!

After a volley of arrows, the red figure remained utterly unaffected and vanished into the night in moments.

"No need to pursue."

Yu Huatian raised a hand, stopping Ma Jinliang and the others as they mounted to give chase. He quietly watched the direction in which Dongfang Bubai had departed, his expression calm, saying nothing.

"Director!"

"My lord!"

Everyone gathered around and bowed in salute.

Ma Jinliang sheathed his twin swords, though he could not conceal the baleful aura or bloodstains covering him. Cupping his hands, he asked, "Director, Dongfang Bubai fought several battles. He should have very little true qi left. Why didn't we seize the chance to kill him?"

"He has quite a reputation in the martial world, and the Sun Moon Holy Cult is also a target of the court's purges. Killing him would greatly enhance the West Depot's prestige!"

Yu Huatian shook his head slightly. "Dongfang Bubai isn't that simple. If he fought us head-on, we might be able to keep him here. But if he wants to leave, we can't stop him."

Ma Jinliang nodded slightly and asked no further questions. He never doubted Yu Huatian's words.

Ding Xiu carried his long saber over his shoulder. He, too, was drenched in blood, some his enemies' and some his own, but his expression was equally calm.

Before joining the West Depot, he had been a wandering vagabond. Scrapes and knocks had long since become commonplace to him.

"How are the casualties?"

Yu Huatian glanced around at the Asura Field and asked.

Third Chief Ji Xueyong stepped forward, likewise covered in blood. A new sword wound ran across his left eye, extending above and below it, yet he acted as though nothing had happened. Cupping his hands, he reported, "Director, we lost over four hundred brothers, but we killed plenty of those martial-world scoundrels as well!"

The West Depot had never had many men-only a little over fourteen hundred in total. Around twelve hundred had been sent on this mission, yet a third had died in this single battle. The losses were devastating!

Yu Huatian fell silent briefly, then gave his orders. "Give our fallen brothers proper burials. Send fifty taels of silver to each family. If any of their sons or nephews wish to study or join the army, do your best to smooth the way and make the arrangements."

"Yes!"

Warmth stirred in Ji Xueyong's chest, and he stepped forward to salute.

Everyone from the West Depot around them was moved as well, and their gazes held an added measure of respect and reverence for Yu Huatian.

"What about you?"

Yu Huatian looked toward the Embroidered Uniform Guard's Thousand-Household Commanders, only to discover that one was missing. His brows drew together slightly.

Lu Wenzhao's expression was somber. He stepped forward and cupped his hands. "My lord, the Embroidered Uniform Guard suffered considerable casualties. We haven't finished counting them yet, but... Thousand-Household Commander Qian Chaofeng died in battle!"

Third Guardian Qian Chaofeng!

Yu Huatian was somewhat surprised. He glanced at Second Guardian Li Jiang beside him, who was smiling cheerfully without a single drop of blood on him.

The man who knew no martial arts and rose through connections survived, while Qian Chaofeng, who was quite capable, died...

Shaking his head slightly, Yu Huatian said mildly, "He died in the line of duty. I will report it to the court, and not a single part of the compensation due to him will be withheld. I'll have someone deliver it to his family personally."

"Finish tallying the other casualties as soon as possible, too. Besides the compensation issued by the court, each family will receive an additional ten taels of silver. The West Depot will cover all the expenses."

Warmth immediately filled the hearts of the Embroidered Uniform Guards. They had thought Yu Huatian would not concern himself with them, yet he had not excluded them.

Although their compensation was forty taels less than the West Depot's, they were not West Depot men, after all. An extra ten taels was already a considerable sum.

And this money was coming from the West Depot. With this precedent set, the Embroidered Uniform Guard might offer compensation of its own as well.

Ever since the Embroidered Uniform Guard had come under the East Depot's suppression, this was the first time they had been treated as human beings. In that moment, they could not help feeling an urge to lay down their lives for Yu Huatian.

"My lord is benevolent and just. On behalf of our fallen brothers, I thank you!"

Lu Wenzhao and the others were moved as well, and they stepped forward one after another to salute.

Yu Huatian waved a hand. "Clear the battlefield. Let's return to Dragon Gate City first."

"At your command!"

Everyone saluted, then turned away to begin organizing the cleanup.

Yu Huatian, meanwhile, turned toward the three figures standing awkwardly at the edge of the battlefield nearby. His gaze gradually grew cold.

"Have you nothing to say?"

Duan Tianya and the other two looked uncomfortable at his words.

Their opponents tonight had been the Four Great Constables, yet in the end, they had failed to keep them there. Instead, all four had fled when they saw the tide turning against them.

Compared with the West Depot and the Embroidered Uniform Guard, they had killed no one tonight and had effectively accomplished nothing. None of them could save face.

"You're secret agents, and they're divine constables. They even had a cripple among them, yet you couldn't hold back a single one. You've certainly done the Ming proud!"

Yu Huatian spoke coldly.

Shangguan Haitang frowned, a trace of indignation appearing in her eyes. Unable to hold back, she argued,

"Iron Hand and the other two are no weaker than we are. Although Emotionless has impaired legs, Emotionless still possesses martial skills and specializes in concealed weapons. We..."

"Enough!"

Duan Tianya cut her off coldly, then cupped his hands toward Yu Huatian. "We failed in our duty. Once we return, I will report the matter truthfully to the prince and submit myself to the court for punishment!"

With that, he turned away with an icy expression and disappeared into the desert.

Guihai Yidao followed calmly without a word. Shangguan Haitang gritted her teeth, glanced at Yu Huatian, and turned to leave as well.

"Useless fools!"

Yu Huatian swept a cold gaze over the three. Their abilities were mediocre, yet each was absurdly arrogant.

"Dragon Guard Mountain Villa? Just you wait!"

Yu Huatian snorted coldly. If the West Depot wanted to control the court, the Dragon Guard Mountain Villa was the first power it needed to bring down.

As long as these three fools were around, Yu Huatian would have plenty of chances to lay a trap for Zhu Wushi and let the Dragon Guard Mountain Villa, which he had painstakingly built, be destroyed by the three instruments he had personally trained!

Suppressing his thoughts, Yu Huatian turned to look at the battlefield.

A streak of fish-belly white had already appeared on the horizon. After a night of fierce fighting, dawn had crept up on them unnoticed.

By the light of the approaching dawn, Yu Huatian finally saw just how terrifying an Asura Field last night's battle had created-

Corpses dressed in all manner of clothing covered an area dozens of yards across. Severed limbs lay everywhere, and bloodstained weapons mingled with the heaps of bodies, reflecting faint, cold glints in the dawn light.

The thick stench of blood permeated the air, leaving not a breath of freshness and making one's stomach churn.

A cursory glance was enough to tell him that at least several thousand had died, most of them members of the various martial sects...

"So this is the martial world."

Yu Huatian sighed inwardly.

After a moment, he drew a deep breath and walked slowly to one side. He mounted the white horse Zhao Tong had brought over and set off at an easy pace toward Dragon Gate Pass.

The morning sun slowly rose above the horizon, stretching a long shadow across the desolate desert.

No one noticed that behind a dune several miles away, a dark figure lay quietly with a brass telescope in hand, watching the battlefield.

The figure was soaked through with rainwater and covered in sand and dirt, evidently having waited there for a long time.

Upon seeing Yu Huatian leave, the figure abruptly rolled over and sprang up, placed fingers to lips, and whistled. A fine horse galloped over from afar at the sound. The figure swung into the saddle and raced off in the opposite direction.

Beneath the sunlight, heavy armor reflected a dazzling brilliance...

-

I hadn't even noticed that we'd made it onto the new releases chart. Although the ranking isn't high, this is my first time making it onto Qidian's new releases chart. Thank you all so much for your support. Thank you, dear bosses.

I'll keep working hard and making steady progress. I hope all you bosses will keep supporting me, reading each day and casting your votes. Staying on the new releases chart for a few more days will give the book more exposure, and its results when it goes premium may be much better too. Thank you, everyone.

The author bows: ▄██●

(End of chapter)